The 2017-2018 Around the NBA thread

[Cheesebeef]

So... Game 1 for the Rockets and in crunch time during the last five minutes of a tight game, Paul is glued to the bench.

Interesting...

 

[GatorAZ]

Amazing comeback by Houston.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Amazing comeback by Houston.

Great game... but with Iggy and Green healthy this probably isn't close.

 

[GatorAZ]

Great game... but with Iggy and Green healthy this probably isn't close.

Golden St isn't Golden St without Green's defense.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Golden St isn't Golden St without Green's defense.

Yup.

 

[95pro]

PJ Tucker got a cheap flagrant 1 assessed to him on Durant. It should be rescinded.

It’s amazing the cheap no-calls the Warriors get.

 

[95pro]

Also Gordon’s explosiveness seems to be back. He was quick to rim with some hops. Hopefully he can stay healthy.

 

[Ronin]

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[JCSunsfan]

Great teams are often more delicate than we think. One player is injured, a player leaves, others age just a little, and then other teams improve a little and next thing you know a dynasty is fighting for its life.

I am not trying to read too much into the GS loss to Houston. Not saying its over etc. Just saying that things CAN change easier than we think they can.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Warriors go from unbeatable to just being the favorites in almost every game without one of their core players though. Green is definitely the one player they can't afford to lose during the playoffs though or things fall apart for them like they did 2 years ago in the finals. Suffering an injury in game 1 isn't too bad, if it's not a season ending injury. He has almost 6 months to get back on the court this season though. It's not his offense GS depends on so much as his leadership on the court and his defensive intensity. Hopefully he can make a full comeback soon but this hurts their chances of beating or duplicating their 73-9 record. (I incorrectly thought it was a shoulder injury and referenced that but I removed that since I was corrected regarding him suffering a knee injury)

Adding Chris Paul to the Rockets though will take some time to get the kinks out. Their system worked with Harden as their PG and moving him off the ball to let Paul run their offense seemed questionable. I wonder if they'd trade him though if they can't make it work. D'Antoni reverted to the players and style they played last year with Harden as their PG while Paul sat at the end of the game. I've read that Paul is injured, or beat up, but not sure how legit that is. I think they're just trying to save face.

Feel bad for Boston but more for Hayward. That injury is devastating. They have depth on the wings but it's all unproven. I think they're in a better position than if they didn't make the Kyrie trade but if they have any hope of challenging the Cavs in the playoffs they're going to need to trade their Lakers pick for someone. They don't really have any cap room or moveable salaries to bring in anyone that is on more than a rookie scale contract though. They can file for the injured player exception but that'll take time.

 

[JCSunsfan]

The Warriors go from unbeatable to simply favorites without one of their core players though. Green is definitely the player they can't afford to lose during the playoffs though or things fall apart for them like they did 2 years ago in the finals. Suffering an injury in game 1 isn't too bad, it's not a season ending injury even if he needs surgery. It's not his offense that's depended on either but his defensive intensity, so a shoulder injury shouldn't effect him that much. He should be able to make a full comeback this season but this hurts their chances of duplicating or beating their 73-9 record.

Adding Chris Paul to the Rockets though will take some time to get the kinks out. Their system worked with Harden as their PG and moving him off the ball to let Paul run their offense seemed questionable. I wonder if they'd trade him though if they can't make it work. D'Antoni reverted to the players and style they played last year with Harden as their PG while Paul sat at the end of the game. I've read that Paul is injured, or beat up, but not sure how legit that is. I think they're just trying to save face.

Feel bad for Boston but more for Hayward. That injury is devastating. They have depth on the wings but it's all unproven. I think they're in a better position than if they didn't make the Kyrie trade but if they have any hope of challenging the Cavs in the playoffs they're going to need to trade their Lakers pick for someone. They don't really have any cap room or moveable salaries to bring in anyone that is on more than a rookie scale contract though. They can file for the injured player exception but that'll take time.

For the time being, it looks like adding PJ to the Rockets is more impactful than adding Chris Paul. But that is only for now. CP3 is a huge add. If they can work out the chemistry, that will be a very good team.

 

[Finito]

Rockets are what they are. D'Antoni only played 8 guys last night. It's the same ole same ole those guys are gonna gas out in the playoffs

I've seen this movie before

 

[Hoop Head]

Chris Paul is the closest thing to Steve Nash that is in the NBA now and matching him up with D'Antoni is a perfect pairing but D'Antoni already had a year to mold Harden into a Nash/Joe Johnson sort of hybrid. If Mike took over this year with this roster I could see them working better than trying to add Paul to a system that D'A already established that runs through Harden.

I know Paul is the much better player, but who knows if they can make it work as far improving upon last years team. If they can, it'll be huge, but if they can't, they should try and move Paul sooner than later to get the most out of him and also try fitting someone in better. They risk losing Paul in free agency this summer for nothing though. I don't see his value taking much of a hit because everyone knew it'd be a tough fit. He hasn't signed an extension yet though so I doubt they can get as much as they gave up, they could probably get an All-Star in return though.

I know the Spurs had interest in Paul, a Chris Paul for LaMarcus Aldridge swap? Aldridge seems like he'd be a great big for D'Antoni but he'd be used as a Center, which he's said he doesn't want to do. He's just signed his extension though and a pairing of Harden and Aldridge works much better and more clearly than Harden and Chris Paul.

 

[Russ Smith]

Golden St isn't Golden St without Green's defense.

That and the ball handling. One of the keys to the Rockets comeback was some big turnovers by Curry, Durant and others. Green is almost like having an extra guard on the floor, when a team plays as aggressively as the Rockets were on defense, a guy like Green is so good at finding the opening either for himself or for a teammate, that's something Looney simply can't do. It's why at the end they put Livingston in there and played Durant as the biggest guy on the floor which led to some huge offensive rebounds by Houston because unlike Green, Livingston can't play like a guard and rebound like a PF.

Also that one crazy play where Gordon lost the ball on the drive and it ended up being saved and hit out for a huge buzzer beating 3. To me that was the biggest play of the 4th quarter.

As a Warrior fan my big takeaway concern is after last year and teh hot yoga fix for Iggy, it's really disturbing that his back is already causing him to miss a game. Last year it seemed like that yoga program was going to save his career and now he's already missing time with the back. He's such a key to the Warriors.

 

[Russ Smith]

The Warriors go from unbeatable to simply favorites without one of their core players though. Green is definitely the player they can't afford to lose during the playoffs though or things fall apart for them like they did 2 years ago in the finals. Suffering an injury in game 1 isn't too bad, it's not a season ending injury even if he needs surgery. It's not his offense that's depended on either but his defensive intensity, so a shoulder injury shouldn't effect him that much. He should be able to make a full comeback this season but this hurts their chances of duplicating or beating their 73-9 record.

It's not a shoulder though it's a knee. Reports are MRI today.

 

[Hoop Head]

It's not a shoulder though it's a knee. Reports are MRI today.

My mistake, big difference there. I see the tweet above also mentioning his left knee, not sure why I was thinking shoulder. Thought I'd read it was the shoulder somewhere. I thought it was on Twitter but I probably got 2 tweets mixed together or something. I'll edit my post accordingly.

 

[95pro]

Chris Paul is the closest thing to Steve Nash that is in the NBA now and matching him up with D'Antoni is a perfect pairing but D'Antoni already had a year to mold Harden into a Nash/Joe Johnson sort of hybrid. If Mike took over this year with this roster I could see them working better than trying to add Paul to a system that D'A already established that runs through Harden.

I know Paul is the much better player, but who knows if they can make it work as far improving upon last years team. If they can, it'll be huge, but if they can't, they should try and move Paul sooner than later to get the most out of him and also try fitting someone in better. They risk losing Paul in free agency this summer for nothing though. I don't see his value taking much of a hit because everyone knew it'd be a tough fit. He hasn't signed an extension yet though so I doubt they can get as much as they gave up, they could probably get an All-Star in return though.

I know the Spurs had interest in Paul, a Chris Paul for LaMarcus Aldridge swap? Aldridge seems like he'd be a great big for D'Antoni but he'd be used as a Center, which he's said he doesn't want to do. He's just signed his extension though and a pairing of Harden and Aldridge works much better and more clearly than Harden and Chris Paul.

I compare Chris Paul to melo a bit, ball dominate and can be a ball stopper. Maybe that’s just what I’ve seen so far while he’s been with the Rockets.

Nash put teammates in a position where they could easily catch and dunk or shoot.

Paul dribbles way too much for my liking and doesn’t necessarily increase Fg% for anyone.

He’s had the luxury of having Jordan and Griffin for lobs. Maybe he just needs more time to run his style of offense with the rockets. Rocket players seem unsure of what to do when Paul is dribbling around versus when Harden is at the helm.

I think what makes it though when Harden has the ball is that Paul isn’t a deadly threat from beyond 3pt, maybe at the 3pt line but not beyond if that makes any sense.

 

[Mainstreet]

Bobby Portis has been suspended for eight games. He was in involved in an altercation with Nikola Mirotic. It happened at practice.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiret...ght-Games-For-Altercation-With-Nikola-Mirotic

 

[GatorAZ]

If Ben Simmons had just an average jump shot he'd be a top-10 player. He's already getting wherever he wants on the floor.

 

[Ronin]

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[Russ Smith]

If Ben Simmons had just an average jump shot he'd be a top-10 player. He's already getting wherever he wants on the floor.

He really is a terrific player even without the jumpshot so yeah if he gets even an average one he's going to be unstoppable.

 

[Russ Smith]

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I feel you Jeremy I ruptured mine 9/22 and am still in a full leg immobilzer brace.

 

[Ronin]

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[elindholm]

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[Finito]

I've never seen anything like Russel Westbrook in my life